Sevilla stun Villarreal 2-1 to move second in La Liga
Sevilla stun Villarreal 2-1 to move second in La Liga
Sevilla's dramatic win with two strikes in the dying minutes took them level with Barca on points, behind only on goal difference.

Barcelona: Sevilla scored twice in the final minutes to stun visiting Villarreal 2-1 and move level on points with Barcelona at the top of the Spanish league on Sunday.

Villarreal substitute Luciano Vietto appeared to have grabbed the winner at Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium with a goal in the 79th minute. But Denis Suarez swept in the equaliser in the 88th and striker Carlos Bacca converted a penalty kick two minutes into injury time after Giovani Dos Santos fouled Benoit Tremoulinas while trying to recover the ball in the area.

The dramatic win ensured Sevilla took advantage of Real Madrid's 3-1 victory over Barcelona on Saturday, lifting Unai Emery's team into second place behind Barcelona on goal difference.

"It is an enormous satisfaction and having 22 points is both the recompense and a way to thank our fans for their support," Emery said.

Sevilla's record of seven wins, one draw and one loss is the best ever through the first nine rounds for the Andalusian club.

Madrid were left in third place one point behind, followed by Valencia and Atletico Madrid another point back.

Atletico remained level on points with Valencia after they earned a testy 1-0 victory at 10-man Getafe thanks to Mario Mandzukic's goal.

Elsewhere, forward Nordin Amrabat scored one goal and set up two more to lead Malaga to a 4-0 rout of Rayo Vallecano, while Espanyol were held 0-0 at home by Deportivo La Coruna.

Vietto went on in the 66th and Ruben "Cani" Gracia followed five minutes later as Villarreal coach Marcelino Garcia looked to refresh his attack.

The move paid off when Cani used one touch to send on a pass for Vietto to chip over goalkeeper Antonio "Beto" Bastos.

But Sevilla pushed forward and Suarez pounced on a cross that Villarreal's defence failed to clear, slotting the ball past goalie Sergio Asenjo while falling to the turf.

But the biggest shock came four minutes later when Tremoulinas came from behind to steal the ball from Dos Santos. The Mexico forward stuck his leg out to try and win it back, and instead tripped the defender inside the box.

Bacca stepped up and fired in the spot kick to send the home crowd into raptures.

"It's a pity that after the way we played for 88 minutes we leave with a loss," said Marcelino. "We played a great match but at the end we committed two errors that gifted Sevilla the win."

Bacca's seven goals equal Lionel Messi's haul as the league's third-leading scorers behind Neymar (9) and Cristiano Ronaldo (16).

Atletico got their winner at their crosstown rivals when Mandzukic tapped in a corner kick that fell to him in the area five minutes before half-time.

Getafe finished a man down after Alexis Ruano was given a direct red card for swiping Mandzukic's face in the 57th.

Malaga's third straight league win lifted them into seventh place ahead of Villarreal after only losing twice in nine rounds under new coach Xabi Gracia.

Amrabat passed for Samuel Garcia to curl in Malaga's sixth-minute opener at their La Rosaleda Stadium. Sergi Darder doubled the lead in the 21st before Amrabat chipped a through ball for Juanmi Lopez to then chip over the goalkeeper in the 45th.

Amrabat got his goal in the 49th from the penalty spot after Antonio Amaya fouled Garcia. The loss ended Rayo's run of consecutive away wins.

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